


Justice

by deep_dark_dangerous



Category: Psych
Genre: Adopted Children, Childhood Sexual Abuse, Gen, Hurt Shawn Spencer, Implied Childhood Sexual Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Molestation, POV Carlton Lassiter, Protective Henry Spencer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 21:20:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20607497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deep_dark_dangerous/pseuds/deep_dark_dangerous
Summary: What happens when Lassie sticks his nose into Shawn's business when Vick says that a case is a conflict of interest for the psychic?





	Justice

"Hey there Lassie, Jules," Spencer says and Carlton rolls his eyes. It seems like everyday the phony psychic comes to the police station. Sometimes not even to solve a case. He just comes because he knows it annoys Carlton to no end.

"Get out of here Spencer. We're working on a very sensitive case. We don't need you going in with your disrespect,” Carlton says leaning in close and threateningly.

"Geez Lassie. I promise to be my usual charming self,” Shawn says moving forward past Carlton only for Vick to grab him by the arm.

“Spencer this case is a conflict of interest for you,” Carlton hears her say and Carlton’s head jerks up. Why would this case be a conflict of interest?

“Oh come on Chief,” Spencer whines.

“Shawn…” she says and Carlton can’t hear the rest of what she says but the look on Spencer’s face tells him a lot, he just can’t figure the meaning out. Spencer runs a hand through his hair and shakes his head and Carlton has never seen the man quiet before. He is always talking, most of the time about nothing important.

“Chief, I can’t get through the kid. He refuses to talk. Keeps saying nothing happened,” O’Hara says and Vick looks at Spencer.

“Spencer...Shawn,” she says.

“I’ll do it, I’ll try talking to the kid,” Spencer says and Vick leads him down to the interview room that they had put the kid in. Carlton doesn’t waste time, he makes his way down and into the observation room to watch as Spencer walks in. Vick leaving to give them privacy which makes Carlton even more curious. The mother gives Spencer a curious look as he whispers something to her.

“Hey,” Shawn says to the seven year old sitting at the table.

“I already told the other cop that nothing happened,” The boy says.

“Now Tyler, we both know that that’s not true,” Spencer says and sits down across from the boy.

“What do you know,” he snaps.

“I know a lot. I know about the sitting game. I know about hiding in the closet at night so he wouldn’t be able to get at you. I know about the fear that you’ll wake up and not be alone in bed. I know the fear and I know better than anyone what that man is capable of doing,” Spencer says and Carlton feels something worrying twisting in his stomach.

“You know about the sitting game?” Tyler asks.

“Michael Conley, your mom’s new boyfriend, my biological father. He was in prison for seven years because a teacher called the cops when she saw a mark on my thigh when I was changing for gym. Next thing I know a detective who could see through all the lies and walls I had built around myself is talking to me and he is asking me questions about hats and trying to find out what Conley did to me,” Spenc...Shawn says and Carlton feels slightly ill.

“I’m scared,” Tyler says.

“Tyler I’m going to level with you. People are going to say you’ll have nothing to be afraid of anymore and that you’re safe. But they won’t be there when you wake in the middle of the night with the ghost of a hand on your body. They won’t be there when you wake from a dream that is so real you could feel his breath on your neck. And they won’t be there when you allow someone to touch you in any capacity and have to chant in your head all the reasons you trusted this person to be the one. But there will be special people there to hold you and hum you back to sleep after the nightmare. There will be those special people that make you laugh again and make you feel safe once again. And those special people will be there when you finally allow your best friend to hug you or your crush to kiss you. For me it was the detective with an obsession with hats and a mom who practiced psychology that wanted a child more than anything. For you it will be your mother and sister. It’s okay to be scared, do you want to know a secret?” Shawn says and Tyler nods.

“Right now, Conley is more afraid of you than anything else in his life ever. Because you have the power to send him to a place where he will never have those special people that we have. He’ll be alone, in the dark, without a friend in the world,” Shawn says and Carlton jumps as Henry enters the observation room.

“How much did you hear?” He asks and Carlton looks at the ground.

“Everything, but there are things I don’t understand,” Carlton says.

“Shawn’s teacher called the SBPD when Shawn was five. I was the detective that was assigned to the case. Shawn’s biological mother had died in childbirth and she had had no family. Conley raised him without anyone to take notice to what he was doing.

I said that same Conley being afraid line to Shawn when I tried to convince him to tell us what happened so we could put the bastard away. Conley’s parents were dead and his brother was in prison for raping a woman in San Diego. Shawn was going to go into the foster care system and I didn’t like the social worker they assigned to his case. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve met some really dedicated social workers. Most of them were. This guy, however, didn’t seem to care about Shawn. Just about getting the case over with and shipping him off to the group home that had been selected. I found out later that the person who was running the home was paying the social worker to send him boys five to eight with brown hair and eyes. 

Maddie and I wanted a child more than anything in the world at the time. But neither of us were in a position to take care of a newborn. And Maddie, when she met him, fell in love at first glance. I knew then that Shawn would be our kid. 

So I pulled some strings. Got the waiting period sped up. Got the police report sealed and changed Shawn’s last name and he was our son. No one but Vick ever knew anything more than that Shawn was adopted. The first year Gus would come over, leave, and sneak back in at night and hide in the closet to make sure Shawn was safe,” Henry says and turns to leave.

“Detective, don’t let Shawn know you know. He’s not ashamed or anything but he doesn’t like the way people treat him like china when they find out,” Spencer the elder says and leaves the room and Carlton turns around to study Shawn in light of the new information. How many years of fear and pain do his unnecessary jokes, laughs, and smiles make up for? How many trips out with friends is he making up for by being around Guster all the time? How much of his interfering with cases is him genuinely wanting to help victims? How much of the invasion of personal space is him making up for the years he couldn’t stand for someone to touch him?

It’s like everything Carlton has ever known has been shifted slightly to the left.

The question is, what does Carlton do now? He knows that treating Shawn any different than before is not going to end well but going back to his normal ways won’t work either.

Carlton slips upstairs and sits at his desk before Shawn can leave the interview room. He sees O’Hara go down to take Tyler’s statement and Shawn comes back up with Vick and Carlton watches Shawn sit at O’Hara’s desk and play with the pencils in the cup on the desk.

“Spencer, I’m going paintballing this weekend. I could use someone with at least some skill to play against,” Carlton lies, knowing that Shawn has been trying to get someone to go with him.

“You just want to shoot me and not get yelled at,” Shawn says with a grin.

“Yeah, but I’d like it to be a tad bit difficult to do it. Who knows, maybe we can take down some of those players who think that they can actually shoot,” Carlton says but at least there is a smile on his face.

It’s the only way to say that he has Shawn’s back if he needs it.

Shawn does look better when he is smiling.

Maybe Carlton can arrange for the people in Conley’s cell block to know all about him and what he is in prison for.

For Shawn and for Tyler.


End file.
